A mind beyond Marvel

[Gray POV]

The cold air bit at my cheeks as Phil and I walked down the quiet neighbourhood street, the snow crunching under our boots. Christmas lights lined the houses, casting warm glows on the pavement, and the occasional laugh or muffled Christmas song filtered through the windows.

"Nice place," Phil said, hands in his coat pockets. "Not too different from where I grew up."

I glanced at him. "Didn't take you for the 'quiet suburban life' type."

He smirked. "Everyone starts somewhere, kid."

I kicked at a patch of ice, watching as it shattered. "You always talk like you've seen way more than you let on."

Phil just chuckled. "That's because I have. I was wondering what gift I should give you? Your Birthday is coming soon, when was it?"

"29th Dec, I don't know, whatever gift you feel like."

"hmm… You don't have a suit do you? I will take you to my tailor sometime."

"Yeah, Sure", I told him not really much interested in the conversation.

We walked in silence for a moment, the kind that wasn't exactly awkward but wasn't entirely comfortable either. Phil was an enigma…my dad's old friend, supposedly just an FBI agent. I wonder what's more corrupt SHIELD or FBI, or which has more spies?

I hacked into SHIELD databases but I can only see up to Level 7 clearance. Beyond that is in their localized server, which I would have to manually connect to.

Then, out of the corner of my eye, I caught movement.

Across the street, a window slid open.

My gaze snapped up just in time to see Peter Parker…yes, that Peter Parker…sneaking out of his bedroom window. And if that wasn't enough of a shock, the guy was wearing a red and blue costume. I would be shocked if I found out SHIELD is already onto him.

The suit clung to him like a second skin, the design unmistakable. Even in the evening lights, I could see the way it stretched over his frame, the way he moved with practiced ease as he crawled onto the side of the building like gravity didn't apply to him.

Oh.

Oh.

My brain short-circuited for a second.

I turned, my mind racing with a hundred thoughts at once, only to realize—

Phil was staring too.

His expression was unreadable, his gaze locked on Peter.

I stayed silent. He stayed silent.

We both watched as Peter disappeared over the roof.

Then, after a beat, Phil cleared his throat and started walking again.

I hesitated, then followed, my heart hammering in my chest.

I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. If he had noticed me watching, he didn't let it show. He just kept that same neutral, unshaken look on his face.

Neither of us said anything. I read his surface thoughts using my telepathy, his mind was in a turmoil he came to investigate Noctis but found spider-man instead. Thankfully, He didn't notice that I too found out about Peter being Spider-man.

He didn't say a word. We went back home and he left.

[Gwen POV]

Dinner at the Stacy household was a quiet affair that night, filled with the clinking of silverware and the soft hum of Christmas music playing from the radio.

Dad was talking about some case—nothing too serious, thankfully—but my mind was barely in the conversation. I nodded along, muttered the occasional "yeah" or "mmhmm," but my thoughts were elsewhere.

Or rather, on someone else.

Gray.

I could still feel the dull ache in my thigh beneath the table, a constant reminder of what had happened. It wasn't too bad…I could still walk with crutches, still move, but I knew I wasn't healing as fast as I should. And that was why tonight mattered.

Gray had promised to sneak me into his secret lab.

A secret lab.

It still sounded crazy to even think about. But then again, everything about Gray was different. He wasn't like Peter, who stammered his way through half his sentences. He wasn't like Flash, who acted like he had something to prove. Gray was… Gray. He was the guy who always seemed to know a lot, the guy who somehow already knew I shot Killgrave, I wonder what his ability is, I know he can release heat from his body, maybe he read my mind and found out I shot killgrave… Telepathy?

And now, he was going to help me.

My fingers drummed against my thigh under the table, the excitement and nerves twisting together in my stomach. I wanted to ask him a million questions—how did he even have a lab? What kind of tech did he have in there? And how, exactly, was he planning on fixing me up?

The anticipation was killing me.

I barely registered Dad calling my name.

"Gwen? You good, kiddo?"

I blinked, snapping back to reality.

"Yeah," I said quickly, forcing a smile. "Just tired."

Dad gave me a look, like he didn't quite believe me, but thankfully, he let it slide.

A few minutes later, I excused myself, rinsed my plate in the sink, and all but bolted to my room.

Shutting the door behind me, I leaned against it and took a deep breath. My heart was pounding now, my hands fidgeting at my sides. I wasn't sure if I was more nervous about sneaking out or about what I was going to see when I did.

I glanced at the clock. It was 10pm, I texted him

'When are you coming Gray?' I asked

'after midnight', he replied after a few minutes, damn that's almost 2hrs later..

I waited and started watching a movie on my laptop. Time flew by as I noticed a voice behind me.

'WHA--'

I noticed Gray was standing near the door. He held his fingers near his lips shushing me.

'Hey… hi', I greeted him.

'Hi Gwen, I got a gift for you', he said as he pulled out a Rose for me.

'Thanks', I said as my cheeks turned Red.

I sniffed the fragrant smell and my eyes started to close. Before I knew it I already passed out on my chair.

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Drop a comment I hope you like the chapter, The updates will be a little slow as I have exams coming up. Though I will try to upload at least 5-6 chapters a week.